American Gothic (Hide and Shriek) (1987)
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55% of users liked it
(726 ratings)
This eccentric, amusingly sick Canadian production involves a group of annoying yuppies who charter a plane for a camping getaway, only to find themselves making an emergency landing on an isolated, forest-covered island. They are taken in by the only inhabitants, the rabidly-religious "Ma &… More This eccentric, amusingly sick Canadian production involves a group of annoying yuppies who charter a plane for a camping getaway, only to find themselves making an emergency landing on an isolated, forest-covered island. They are taken in by the only inhabitants, the rabidly-religious "Ma & Pa" (Yvonne De Carlo and Rod Steiger), who seem trapped in a Norman Rockwellian time-warp and are invited to stay the night. This proves to be every bit as unpleasant as it seems -- especially after the hapless campers are introduced to the psychotic, middle-aged "children" (Michael J. Pollard and Janet Wright) -- who appear to be pushing 50. Before long, it's crazed crackers 1, campers 0 and counting, as the warped, scripture-spouting yokels take sharp objects in hand... until one of the campers (Sarah Torgov) reveals her own homicidal potential and goes completely berserk. Despite delightfully weird performances from a top-drawer cast, this campy romp is slightly spoiled by a poorly-scripted climax that suggests a sudden loss of creative inspiration. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi
- Directed By
- John Hough
- Genres
- Horror
- In Theaters
- Feb 1, 1988 Wide
Critic Reviews
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Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
Even as exploitation schlock this is pretty bad.
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Scott Weinberg, eFilmCritic.com
Steiger, Pollard AND De Carlo? Yeah, okay, let's rent something else.
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Cast
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Rod Steiger
as Pa
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Yvonne De Carlo
as Ma
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Sarah Torgov
as Cynthia
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Michael J. Pollard
as Woody
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Fiona Hutchinson
as Lynn
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William Hootkins
as Teddy
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Caroline Barclay
as Terri
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Janet Wright
as Fanny
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Mark Lindsay Chapman
as Rob
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Mark Ericksen
as Jeff
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Terry Kelly
as Psychiatrist
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Stephen Shelley
as Paul
- Will Wright